Prótesis unicompartimental versus osteotomía tibial alta en la enfermedad degenerativa unicompartimental de rodilla

Se presenta un estudio comparativo prospectivo de 40 rodillas intervenidas quirúrgicamente por presentar afectación degenerativa de predominio del compartimento interno, 20 de ellas tratadas con una sustitución unicompartimental y las otras 20 con osteotomía tibial valguizante. El tiempo medio de seguimiento ha sido de 30 meses para el primer grupo y de 32 meses para el segundo. La valoración de resultados se realizó siguiendo los criterios del Hospital for Special Surgery, resultando en el grupo de las prótesis unicompartimentales un 50% excelentes y 50% buenos, frente a un 40% excelentes, 46,5% buenos y 13,5% regulares para el grupo de las osteotomías. Se concluye que hemos obtenido mejores resultados con las prótesis unicompartimentales, aunque cada caso debe ser valorado en particular para la aplicación de una u otra técnica.We present a prospective and comparative study of 40 knees operated because of degenerative pathology in the internal compartment, 20 knees were treated with unicompartmental replacement and the other with high tibial osteotomy. The average follow- up was 30 months in the first group and 32 months in the second. The Hospital for Special Surgery knee-rating score was used for preoperative and postoperative assessment, resulting 50% very good results and 50% good outcome in the unicompartmental replacement group, and 40% very good results, 46.5% good and 13.5% fair outcome in the tibial osteotomy group. The conclusion is that better results can be obtained with the unicompartmental arthroplasty, although each case must be evaluated individually to use one or another technique

Characterization of the "diabesity" gene HMG20A in pancreatic islets

Motivation: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) accounts for 90-95% of diagnosed diabetic patients, which tendency in the next years is also expected to increase. Recent genomic wide association studies showed a correlation of an allelic variation of HMG20A with T2D in some ethnic groups. Up to date, there is no scientific evidence of the role of this gene in pancreatic tissue. But, in central nervous system, HMG20A regulates the expression of NeuroD, common in pancreas and nervous system morphogenesis. Here, our group makes an approach to characterize HMG20A in pancreatic islets, focusing on its involvement in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and pancreatic islets development. We want to demonstrate that: 1) HMG20A is expressed in endocrine pancreas 2) HMG20A modifies expression of genes involved in pancreas development 3) silencing HMG20A affects expression levels of insulin secretion related genes and functionality.Methods: Qualitative expression of HMG20A is tested out in slides of pancreatic sections obtained from control mice. Co-localization with α or β cells is analyzed by immunofluorescence using anti-HMG20A, anti-insulin/glucagon antibodies and Dapi for nuclei. INS-1E cells are cultured and treated with a specific siRNA against HMG20A or a non-specific siRNA control during 72h. Genes involved in insulin secretion and endocrine pancreas development are assayed via qRT-PCR in INS1-E cells after siRNA treatment. Pdx1, Pax4, MafA and HMG20A expression levels are assessed following 2-ΔΔCt method. Finally, HMG20A silenced mouse islets and INS-1E are cultured at low glucose (2.8 mM) and high glucose medium (22 mM) following quantification of insulin secretion by ELISA.Results: Immunofluorescence confirmed co-localization of HMG20A with insulin (β-cell) and with glucagon (α-cells) producing cells in mouse pancreas. HMG20A expression diminished a 60% after treating INS1-E cells with a specific siRNA for HMG20A. Insulin secretion regulator gene, MafA, is downregulated significantly (50-60%) after HMG20A silencing. Pax4 expression significantly increased meanwhile Pdx1 showed a tendency to decrease. A 40% drop in insulin secretion is obtained in siHMG20A treated mouse islets compared to control.Conclusions: This data confirms HMG20A expression in pancreatic islets and impairment of insulin secretion when it is knocked down. Hence, concluding that HMG20A plays an important role in physiological GSIS and regulating pancreatic development related genes

Ab initio study of the influence of nanoscale doping inhomogeneities in the phase separated state of La1−x_{1-x}Cax_{x}MnO3_3

The chemical influence in the phase separation phenomenon that occurs in perovskite manganites is discussed by means of ab initio calculations. Supercells have been used to simulate a phase separated state, that occurs at Ca concentrations close to the localized to itinerant crossover. We have first considered a model with two types of magnetic ordering coexisting within the same compound. This is not stable. However, a non-isotropic distribution of chemical dopants is found to be the ground state. This leads to regions in the system with different effective concentrations, that would always accompany the magnetic phase separation at the same nanometric scale, with hole-rich regions being more ferromagnetic in character and hole-poor regions being in the antiferromagnetic region of the phase diagram, as long as the system is close to a phase crossover.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Fundamental, Quantitative Traits of the “Sociotype”

In whatever domain of life, from cells to organisms to societies, communicative exchanges underlie the formation and maintenance, and decay, of the emerging collective structures. It can be clearly seen in the human social world. The different classes of social bonds in a complex society revolve around, and are intimately related with, the communicative relationships that every individual entertains—essentially via face-to-face conversation. In the present work we have investigated the fundamental metrics of both social bonds and communicative exchanges along the development of the “sociotype” construct. It is a new approach developed by the authors within the genotype-phenotype-sociotype conceptual triad. The sociotype means the relative constancy, or better the similar fabric, of the social world in which each individual life is developed. In order to ascertain the metrics of the fundamental quantitative traits inherent in the sociotype, a fieldwork involving a total of 1475 individuals (68.59% female, and 49.79 mean age, SD = 21.47) was carried out. The four relational realms of family, friends, work/study, and acquaintances were investigated. The overall results about conversation time (an average of 220 min/day), and about the number of social bonds (an average of 98), differ from previous assumptions, such as Dunbar's number or Killworth's number. Other results about gender, age, and use of social media and Internet contribute to highlight significant differences among the different social segments, and particularly the diminished “sociotype” of the elderly. Finally, it is curious that a non-Gaussian distribution has been obtained for the specific population allotment of these metrics, and intriguingly the Planckian distribution equation (PDE) appears to be a most cogent fit

Strong coupling between weakly guided semiconductor nanowire modes and an organic dye

The light-matter coupling between electromagnetic modes guided by a semiconductor nanowire and excitonic states of molecules localized in its surrounding media is studied from both classical and quantum perspectives, with the aim of describing the strong-coupling regime. Weakly guided modes (bare photonic modes) are found through a classical analysis, identifying those lowest-order modes presenting large electromagnetic fields spreading outside the nanowire while preserving their robust guided behavior. Experimental fits of the dielectric permittivity of an organic dye that exhibits excitonic states are used for realistic scenarios. A quantum model properly confirms through an avoided mode crossing that the strong-coupling regime can be achieved for this configuration, leading to Rabi splitting values above 100 meV. In addition, it is shown that the coupling strength depends on the fraction of energy spread outside the nanowire, rather than on the mode field localization. These results open up a new avenue towards strong-coupling phenomenology involving propagating modes in nonabsorbing media.The authors acknowledge the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad for financial support through Grants No. MAT2014-53432-C5-5-R, No. FIS2015-69295-C3-2-P, and No. FIS2017-91413-EXP; the María de Maeztu program for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0377); and an FPU Fellowship (D.R.A.) and a Ramón y Cajal grant (J.F.). We also acknowledge funding from the European Research Council (ERC-2016-STG-714870

Impact of successive spring frosts on leaf phenology and radial growth in three deciduous tree species with contrasting climate requirements in central Spain

Rear-edge tree populations forming the equatorward limit of distribution of temperate species are assumed to be more adapted to climate variability than central (core) populations. However, climate is expected to become more variable and the frequency of climate extremes is forecasted to increase. Climatic extreme events such as heat waves, dry spells and spring frosts could become more frequent, and negatively impact and jeopardize rear-edge stands. To evaluate these ideas, we analyzed the growth response of trees to successive spring frosts in a mixed forest, where two temperate deciduous species, Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech) and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. (sessile oak), both at their southernmost edge, coexist with the Mediterranean Quercus pyrenaica Willd. (Pyrenean oak). Growth reductions in spring-frost years ranked across species as F. sylvatica > Q. petraea > Q. pyrenaica. Leaf flushing occurred earlier in F. sylvatica and later in Q. pyrenaica, suggesting that leaf phenology was a strong determinant of spring frost damage and stem growth reduction. The frost impact depended on prior climate conditions, since warmer days prior to frost occurrence predisposed to frost damage. Autumn Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data showed delayed leaf senescence in spring-frost years and subsequent years as compared with pre-frost years. In the studied forest, the negative impact of spring frosts on Q. petraea and especially on F. sylvatica growth, was considerably higher than the impacts due to drought. The succession of four spring frosts in the last two decades determined a trend of decreasing resistance of radial growth to frosts in F. sylvatica. The increased frequency of spring frosts might prevent the expansion and persistence of F. sylvatica in this rear-edge Mediterranean population

Nanostructure of Thin Films Grown by Deposition of Isotropically Distributed Gaseous Particles

: Presentación en la conferencia “12th International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering”Peer reviewe

Directional emission from leaky and guided modes in GaAs nanowires measured by cathodoluminescence

8 págs.; 4 figs.We measure the polarization-resolved angular emission distribution from thin and thick GaAs nanowires (diameters ∼110 and ∼180 nm) with cathodoluminescence polarimetry. The nanowires, which horizontally rest on a thin carbon film, are excited by a 5 keV electron beam and emit band gap luminescence at a central wavelength of 870 nm. The emission can couple to different waveguide modes that propagate along the wire, are dependent on the wire diameter, and determine the directionality and polarization of the emission. Although each measured nanowire can support different modes, the polarized emission is dominated by the TM01 waveguide mode in all cases, independently of wire diameter. When exciting the nanowires close to the end facets, the thin and thick wires exhibit opposite directional emission. The emission from thin nanowires is dominated by a leaky TM01 mode that leads to emission toward the opposite end facet (emission to the right when exciting the left-side edge). For the thick wires, however, the TM01 mode is guided but also lossy due to absorption in the substrate. In such a case, the wires emit toward the excited end facet (to the left when exciting the left-side edge). The emission directionality switches for nanowire diameters in the range of 145-170 nm. We show that the measurements agree well with both a simple 1D current model and numerical simulations. The high spatial resolution of angle- and polarization-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy provides detailed insight into the nanoscale emission and propagation of light in semiconductor nanowires. Copyright © 2016 American Chemical SocietyThis work is part of the Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM) as well as the Dutch Technology Foundation STW, which are financially supported by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. It is also part of NanoNextNL, a nanotechnology program funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, part of an industrial partnership program between Philips and FOM, and is supported by the European Research Council (ERC). The Spanish Ministerio de Economıía y Competitividad is also acknowledged for financial support through the grants NANOPLAS+ (FIS2012-31070) and LENSBEAM (FIS2015- 69295-C3-2-P).Peer Reviewe

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Biliary Carriage of Bacteria Showing Worrisome and Unexpected Resistance Traits

Data on biliary carriage of bacteria and, specifically, of bacteria with worrisome and unexpected resistance traits (URB) are lacking. A prospective study (April 2010 to December 2011) was performed that included all patients admitted for<48 h for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a Spanish hospital. Bile samples were cultured and epidemiological/clinical data recorded. Logistic regression models (stepwise) were performed using bactobilia or bactobilia by URB as dependent variables. Models (P< 0.001) showing the highest R2 values were considered. A total of 198 patients (40.4% males; age, 55.3 17.3 years) were included. Bactobilia was found in 44 of them (22.2%). The presence of bactobilia was associated (R2 Cox, 0.30) with previous biliary endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (odds ratio [OR], 8.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.96 to 27.06; P< 0.001), previous admission (OR, 2.82; 95% CI, 1.10 to 7.24; P 0.031), and age (OR, 1.09 per year; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.12; P< 0.001). Ten out of the 44 (22.7%) patients with bactobilia carried URB: 1 Escherichia coli isolate (CTX-M), 1 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate (OXA-48), 3 high-level gentamicin-resistant enterococci, 1 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus isolate, 3 Enterobacter cloacae strains, and 1 imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain. Bactobilia by URB (versus those by non-URB) was only associated (R2 Cox, 0.19) with previous ERCP (OR, 11.11; 95% CI, 1.98 to 62.47; P 0.006). For analyses of patients with bactobilia by URB versus the remaining patients, previous ERCP (OR, 35.284; 95% CI, 5.320 to 234.016; P<0.001), previous intake of antibiotics (OR, 7.200; 95% CI, 0.962 to 53.906; P 0.050), and age (OR, 1.113 per year of age; 95% CI, 1.028 to 1.206; P 0.009) were associated with bactobilia by URB (R2 Cox, 0.19; P<0.001). Previous antibiotic exposure (in addition to age and previous ERCP) was a risk driver for bactobilia by URB. This may have implications in prophylactic/therapeutic measures

PAX4 preserves endoplasmic reticulum integrity preventing beta cell degeneration in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes mellitus

[Aims/hypothesis]: A strategy to enhance pancreatic islet functional beta cell mass (BCM) while restraining inflammation, through the manipulation of molecular and cellular targets, would provide a means to counteract the deteriorating glycaemic control associated with diabetes mellitus. The aims of the current study were to investigate the therapeutic potential of such a target, the islet-enriched and diabetes-linked transcription factor paired box 4 (PAX4), to restrain experimental autoimmune diabetes (EAD) in the RIP-B7.1 mouse model background and to characterise putative cellular mechanisms associated with preserved BCM. [Methods]: Two groups of RIP-B7.1 mice were genetically engineered to: (1) conditionally express either PAX4 (BPTL) or its diabetes-linked mutant variant R129W (mutBPTL) using doxycycline (DOX); and (2) constitutively express luciferase in beta cells through the use of RIP. Mice were treated or not with DOX, and EAD was induced by immunisation with a murine preproinsulin II cDNA expression plasmid. The development of hyperglycaemia was monitored for up to 4 weeks following immunisation and alterations in the BCM were assessed weekly by non-invasive in vivo bioluminescence intensity (BLI). In parallel, BCM, islet cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by immunocytochemistry. Alterations in PAX4- and PAX4R129W-mediated islet gene expression were investigated by microarray profiling. PAX4 preservation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis was assessed using thapsigargin, electron microscopy and intracellular calcium measurements. [Results]: PAX4 overexpression blunted EAD, whereas the diabetes-linked mutant variant PAX4R129W did not convey protection. PAX4-expressing islets exhibited reduced insulitis and decreased beta cell apoptosis, correlating with diminished DNA damage and increased islet cell proliferation. Microarray profiling revealed that PAX4 but not PAX4R129W targeted expression of genes implicated in cell cycle and ER homeostasis. Consistent with the latter, islets overexpressing PAX4 were protected against thapsigargin-mediated ER-stress-related apoptosis. Luminal swelling associated with ER stress induced by thapsigargin was rescued in PAX4-overexpressing beta cells, correlating with preserved cytosolic calcium oscillations in response to glucose. In contrast, RNA interference mediated repression of PAX4-sensitised MIN6 cells to thapsigargin cell death. [Conclusions/interpretation]: The coordinated regulation of distinct cellular pathways particularly related to ER homeostasis by PAX4 not achieved by the mutant variant PAX4R129W alleviates beta cell degeneration and protects against diabetes mellitus. The raw data for the RNA microarray described herein are accessible in the Gene Expression Omnibus database under accession number GSE62846